


Leave the Nightlight On

by ashyfur524, uppercasebread



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz, Re-Animator (Movies)
Genre: Don’t copy to another site, Jeremy and Michael got sent to the 80s, M/M, Michael is a disaster gay who can't stop himself from referencing pop culture, Multi, Other, Squipemy but it's eventually healthy???, Undertones of missing your abuser, Unintentional Time-Travel, it might be the Tic Tac's fault, my sons!!!, there's gonna be angst eventually :3c, whoops Herb and Dan are dads now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-11-16 06:42:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18089381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashyfur524/pseuds/ashyfur524, https://archiveofourown.org/users/uppercasebread/pseuds/uppercasebread
Summary: It wasn’t uncommon for Jeremy and Michael to get stoned together. It was something they did together, a way for both of them to relax and spend time with each other. What was uncommon, however, was getting stoned only to be shot back in time, warped into the reality of the 1985 horror-comedy known as Re-Animator.Also i mean getting adopted by gays isn't very common but that's. I mean. That's a given.





	1. Don't Be Afraid of What You Can't See

The first thing that Jeremy realized was that he had more than likely consumed way too much pot whilst getting stoned off his ass in Michael's basement. The second thing he realized was that they were no longer in Michael's basement. They weren't even in New Jersey, from the looks of it. He sat up, brushing his pants off and patting Michael's cheek gently. "Michael.. Mikey, babe, wake up.." He hissed, nearly shaking. Michael's dark eyes opened, and he adjusted his glasses as Jeremy pulled him to his feet.

"Where.. What the hell..?" Michael started, only for Jeremy to immediately put his hands up in surrender.

"I don't know, man! We were just getting stoned, or, you were, I was getting smoke-high, and then.. Weren't we going to watch that one cult movie you really like? From like, '85?" Jeremy started, pausing only when he realized Michael wasn't really listening.

"Holy shit, dude.." Michael whispered, eyes nearly giddy with excitement.

"What?" Jeremy prompted, still teetering on the edge of a panic attack.

"Jer.. We're _in_ Reanimator.." Michael breathed, gripping Jeremy's hands. Jeremy winced, the voice in his head whirring to life.

 _"You're going to want to find someplace you won't stick out so much.."_ It instructed. Jeremy clenched his jaw.

"The Tic Tac wants us to find someplace where we won't stick out like 21st century thumbs.."

Michael nodded, shutting his eyes. "I think I know a place.."

* * *

 

The two teens found themselves on a doorstep that was rather familiar to Michael, and he rang the doorbell twice, holding Jeremy's hand tightly to keep him from jumping into the road. "Just breathe, Jer.."

 

Herbert was working in the basement when the doorbell rang overhead, startling the daylights out of him. Before he could say anything, he heard an "I'll get it!" from Dan. As if Herbert would beat him to it from the basement. He looked down at the lab table, covered in blood and reagent. He couldn't let anyone see this, or see _him_ like this. He hurriedly wiped his hands off on a towel, scurrying up the stairs, intending to quickly change in his room or steal one of Dan's shirts. Dan tried to stifle a laugh at Herbert trying to sneak upstairs, his odd, almost rat-like behaviors becoming obvious as he slowly peeked out of the basement, glowing green and red. He turned to the door, pulling it open. Immediately, his eyebrows furrowed. He wasn't expecting guests, especially not two high schoolers in odd clothes. 

"Um... Hi, can I help you?"

 

Jeremy trembled as the door opened, squeezing Michael's hand as the other boy spoke. "Hi, uh, you're Daniel Cain, right?" He extended his other hand. "Michael Mell, nice to meet you, uh, we heard there were important scientific discoveries occurring under this very roof, and, me and my buddy Jeremy here, we're men of science ourselves and were wondering if we could maybe check out the workspace of the incredibly talented Herbert West?" He smiled weakly, hoping his stammering was enough to get them inside. Jeremy stood straight almost impulsively, a faint tingling forming on the small of his back, warning him not to slouch.

Herbert tensed reflexively upon hearing his name, inching a bit closer to where Dan was at the door. He didn't recognize the kids on their front stoop, something that made him inexplicably anxious. He cocked his head, finally moving closer. 

Dan was about to make up an excuse, say something about Herbert not living there or being swamped with work, but Herb interrupted him by ducking under his arm on the door frame. His hands were tucked close to his chest, and he seemed to assess the teens in from of them. "How do you know who I am?" He asked, in his usual flat, blunt tone of voice. Dan resisted the urge to laugh, gently nudging Herb back behind his arm. "It's alright, meatball." He murmured softly, hoping it wasn't audible.

Jeremy pulled his eyes off the ground and looked at Herbert, the circuits lining his eyes and trailing down his cheeks glowing faintly as he spoke. "I basically used myself as a guinea pig for a similar scientific pursuit, and according to it's calculations there is a 99.9% chance that your serum will change the world of science forever.." He stated, parroting what the SQUIP told him to.

Herbert looked up at the faintly-glowing teenager, his eyes flicking across the kid’s face without betraying any emotion. He tucked his hands behind his back, humming thoughtfully.

“Meatball...” Dan warned. He didn’t _mind_ inviting the kids in, or letting Herb talk to them, but he didn’t need Herb getting tangled in any other experiments that might end in his death. He rolled his eyes as Herb returned with a “Daniel...”   


Jeremy smiled hopefully, shutting his eyes and squeezing Michael's hand as a familiar buzzing flooded his veins, the important vessels of his body glowing like the circuitry of his face. He hoped to hell that his robo-Reeves wouldn't actually manifest again. Michael gripped Jeremy's hand, pursing his lips before offering the two men a hopeful expression. "Jeremy gets kinda tired when the, uh, brain computer works with him, it usually helps him know what to do in social situations, but it does exert a lot of energy what with it talking directly into his brain, do you guys have like, a couch he could lie down on?"

Herbert watched with interest as Jeremy’s veins began to glow a brilliant blue, complimentary to the brilliant neon green still soaked into Herbert’s clothes. He stepped aside, keeping his hands behind his back. Dan led both teens into the house, shutting the door softly behind him and sending Herb a warning _Don’t-You-Do-Anything-Stupid_ glance. He cautiously took Jeremy’s arm, leading him to the living room couch and letting him sit down, while Herb kept his distance. Dan could tell he was concerned, but he could _also_ tell Herb was trying to figure out just what was making this thing _work_ .   


Jeremy opened his eyes, and for a first time in a long time, Michael was.. Fuzzy.. "No, no no no, you can't, I won't let you block him again, stop!" He whimpered, his pupils haloed with electric blue, his fingers twitching as he fought against the SQUIP's control. "Michael, please, please stay, I, I'm sorry, it-!"

 _Vocal chords locked._ A voice in his head chimed. It's electric fingers curled around his shoulders, and it smiled at him.

"Oh, Jeremy.. I've missed you.. It's so boring being all alone in this head of yours, but now.." The SQUIP laughed, the sound reverberating with a synthetic echo. "There's no way to turn me off.. And there won't be for another three years.." It purred. Jeremy groped for Michael's hand, fighting the optic nerve blocking as hard as he could.

Herbert jolted a little, watching Jeremy’s sort-of breakdown intently. He moved forward, stopping about a foot away. He could see that the boy’s pupils were ringed with blue now, and he seemed... Almost blind to his friend (partner?) at the end of the couch. Dan instinctively stepped away, memories of experiments gone wrong flashing through his mind. After a moment, he joined Herb beside the couch, gently leading Jeremy’s hand to Michael’s. He watched Herb gently take Jeremy’s face, staring intently at him. He grabbed a flashlight off his belt loop, shining it into Jeremy’s eyes for a moment.  


“Response time... a bit slow. He doesn’t seem to be fully awake.” He mumbled, before snapping softly. “Jeremy? Can you hear me?”  


Dan watched Herbert work, trying to get a response, as he tried to keep both boys calm. Whatever was going on... He was unequipped to deal with.   


 

Jeremy wanted to scream, he wanted to tell everyone in the room what was going on, but he couldn't. All he could do was sit there as the SQUIP held his tongue, overriding every function of his body. "Let me go! It's bad enough that we're stuck in the 80's, why can't you just let me have one crisis at a time?"

The SQUIP chuckled. "You thought you could just switch me on and then turn me off again without me catching up? That's not how any of this works, Jeremy.. You _upgraded_ , you can't go back, no matter how hard you try.."

 

Michael shut his eyes, squeezing Jeremy's hand tightly. "It does this.. It.. When he first got it, he thought that he wanted this one girl to date him, his girlfriend now, but in doing so, it.. Blocked me.. It accessed his optic nerves and it erased me from them.. He's with both of us now, it's just Christine doesn't like getting stoned or playing video games as much, but he and her always do school musicals and plays and I always go to see them because it makes them happy, and.." He hadn't realized how scared he had been of the SQUIP erasing him again. "And without a way to turn it off, maybe, maybe it'll do something even worse.." Michael nearly felt his heart stop as he whispered.

"What if it deletes me from his memory..?"

Herbert continued to try getting a response from Jeremy, urging Dan to help Michael with a glance. He gently held Jeremy’s face, tilting it side to side and sighing with the tiniest bit of relief as the blue-rimmed irises stayed focused on his face. That was... Good. At least. He breathed in sharply. “Dan. If... Once you have a moment, bring me.. 15 ccs. The vial and syringes are downstairs. It may not be necessary, but we need to be prepared.” 

Dan focused on helping Michael, hugging the boy close to him and trying to keep him calm. He had seen a lot of scary things, but he understood the pain of losing a partner. “It... It won’t. And if it tries, he’ll always find a way to get back to you.” He said softly. Dan turned at Herbert’s request, frowning a touch, but nodding. He prayed that they wouldn’t need it.

Michael blinked rapidly at Dan's attempted reassurance, adjusting his glasses. "Fuck, ok, um, I'll just, I'll stay here and I'll hold his hand because even if he can't see me, he'll know I'm here probably.." He stammered, laughing almost manically.

 

Jeremy grit his teeth. "What do you want..?" He snarled, jolting as the SQUIP sent a shock through his spine. "Oh, Jeremy, what I want is to help you.." Jeremy felt his blood bubbling with rage, and he finally jerked himself forward, screaming at the top of his lungs.

" ** _LIAR!!_** " He panted, his fingers twitching as he felt the control wash back over him, and realized he must have startled their hosts. Michael held Jeremy close to him, running his hands through his light brown hair, making sure Jeremy knew that he was there.

 

Herbert jolted as Jeremy seemed to come back to life, accepting the syringe as Dan handed it over. He set it on the endtable. He wouldn’t need it yet. He let Michael comfort his partner, standing back beside his own. Dan rested one hand on the small of Herb’s back, watching with concern as the teens practically tied themselves together. He had no idea what to _do_ or what just happened.   
  
“What.... what was that?”

Jeremy sat up slowly before reclining shakily onto the couch. "That.. Was my SQUIP.. My Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor.. It.. It's a computer, but it's really tiny and special and you take it in a pill and then it goes into your blood and it latches into your brain like a parasite-! OW!" He shook his head as he recoiled from another jolt of electricity. "It.. It implants in your brain, and it, it talks to you, it tells you what to do, when to do it, how to be better, however it thinks that you need to be, you give it a goal and then it does it but there's no other information on it and it's activated by Mountain Dew, and you can't really turn it off, you just make it sleep and then sometimes it comes back when you feel like garbage or when you're confused, it's like a little voice that makes you want to trust it, and I'll never be able to get it out of my head ever.." He inhaled shakily, tears welling in his eyes.

Herbert took a moment to absorb the information, thinking in silence. He knew he and Dan could both easily remove anything surgically, but something about Jeremy’s panic made him a bit hesitant to propose the idea. He was about to speak when Dan gently tugged on his sleeve.  
  
“Meatball? A moment?” Dan asked, pulling Herb across the room. “Do you think we could... Remove this thing?” He asked.

  
“I was considering it. I am... Not sure that it’s possible, however. I doubt Jeremy would be so terrified if the solution were that simple.”

Dan shrugged, not wanting to argue with Herbert's reasoning.

“It’s always worth a try.” He said. He earned a silent nod from Herbert, which he took to mean that he could pitch the idea. He turned back to the couch, clearing his throat.

“Um... Well, Herb and I _are_ med students... specifically focused on the brain and brain death... we could... we could always try to cut it out for you.”

Jeremy shrank into the couch cushions, his veins illuminating. "No, it won't like that, I can't, it won't, it won't come out without fighting, it'll take part of me with it, I, I don't want to risk that, It's got control over _every_ part of me.. All my muscle functions, all my receptors, everything.. It feels what I feel, sees what I see, I-ah!" He jolted again, the scar tissue on the small of his back burning.

Herbert’s eyes fell to the glowing solution on the endtable. He moved towards it, gathering the syringe into one hand and looking it over. If the thing couldn’t be physically removed… maybe he could _poison_ it out. Or, at least, give Jeremy’s body the energy to stay in control. “There is always the option of reagent... if you would be willing to try that, instead...” 

Jeremy blinked rapidly. "Wh.."   
  
Michael hummed softly. "Shh, it’s ok, Jer.. You just breathe, uh.." He looked to Dan. "Can you stay with him? While Herbert and I talk about this..?"

Dan nodded, moving to take Michael’s place and trying to keep Jeremy calm despite his obvious terror. He tried to just be... A comforting presence. He was reminded of all the times he’d been the one to comfort after nightmares, trying to follow the same steps.

Jeremy rolled onto his side, looking at Dan. "What is that stuff..?" He asked softly, shivering a bit.

Dan moved a bit closer, enough to be comforting but not enough to be invasive. “It’s... it’s made of amniotic fluid, which is... it's a fluid from the body of an iguana, and it- Herb puts it through a big long process until he ends up with the reagent, which can... well, sort of... bring people back to life. It... isn’t just on people though. any dead tissue.”

  
  
Herbert’s eyes flashed as the taller teen led him to the same corner he and Dan had been conversing in only a moment before. He rocked on his heels, keeping his arms firmly behind his back. “What would you like to talk about?”

Michael inhaled slowly. "Look, I know you’re a smart guy, and that Jeremy needs some way to fight this thing, but.. Can we try to find something that’s not as pokey before we put reagent into him? I just, I don’t know how the SQUIP will react to regenerative stuff, like, it could be good to help Jer fight it, but it.. It might give the SQUIP easier access to newly developing nerves and shit, I.. I guess I’m just nervous, but when am I not..?" He laughed softly. 

Herbert nodded slowly, but didn’t respond immediately. He was working on another solution, some way to help Jeremy fight the nasty little thing in his brain. And maybe, just maybe, keep it to study. He tapped one foot. “Do you have any other ideas?”

Michael cleared his throat. "I.. Is there anything with, like, Red 40 in it? Like, a drink, a, a soda, the, the one that deactivates it won’t come out for three more years, and don’t ask me how I know that, I just know that it’s gonna get discontinued almost as quickly as it gets released because.." A feeling of horror crept over him. "Holy shit.. We're why that got discontinued, we're gonna be stuck here for three fucking years, this.. The SQUIP did this.." He stared at Herbert, shaking as the realization hit him like a train. 

  
"Uh.. Mr. West, I think you and Dan, you’re gonna be our legal guardians for a little.."


	2. Leave Your Body and Soul at the Door

Dan and Herbert both shared an uncomfortable, wide-eyed glance. They were hardly even out as a couple (only to their closest remaining family members and a few very close friends). Neither of them knew how to take care of a teenager. Herbert had reanimated and then re-killed their  _ cat _ three times before he got put fully out of commission. “Ah- I...” Herbert began, trailing off as he realized he had no idea what to say.

Michael shook his head.  "No, we, we literally don’t have a way back, that fucking tic tac shot us back in time somehow! You guys, at least one of you, has to be able to claim us.. Maybe Herb could have Jeremy under his name and Dan could have me?" Michael suggested. "So that it’s not as easy to tell you guys are a thing..?"

The house fell silent. 

“It’s... It isn’t safe here. The experiments... I’ve already almost been killed. Can you...” Herbert trailed off as he glanced over at Dan, who was clearly already attached to the teenagers in their living room. He sighed, scrubbing at his face. “What- whatever Dan picks, I guess..” He mumbled, already knowing the answer.   
  
“I- I’m sure we can figure something out...”

Michael smiled gently, his pulse still thrumming in his ears. "We will.. It’s gonna be fine, we.. We'll figure this out, besides, Jer and I can help out here, we don’t have to go to school if Dan can make a claim that he’s homeschooling us.." He offered. "Oh, and Jeremy likes having tactile things, that’s why he plays with my hair, so maybe we could get another cat? He likes cats.."    
  
Jeremy looked up at Dan. "Alcohol messes the SQUIP up.. It goes away when I get shit-faced, but then I get hungover as balls and puke in the morning.."

Dan nodded slowly, taking into account the things the kids were telling him, while also taking note of Herb’s stress. “The homeschool claim should be easy, the cat... Maybe not as much. If you promise to keep it out of the basement, then i’ll consider it.”

Herbert let his outer walls fall, melting into the persona he typically saved only for Dan. He pouted a little, crossing his arms across his chest and rocking on his heels. He was starting to get stressed.   


Michael nodded rapidly. "We can do that! No kitties exploring the basement, that should be easy.. Uh.. Herbert, do you want to like, take a step outside or something, to like, breathe or talk or something? Usually whenever I start stimming like that it means I’m nervous or stressed, and I totally get it, so like.. Take care of yourself, I, here, I can be with Jer, and make sure he’s all comfy.." He looked to Dan. "Do you have any throw blankets?"

Dan nodded, moving to gather the blankets and comfort Herb at the same time. Herbert glanced up at him, rocking a little more violently. Dan gently tugged on one of his sleeves. 

“Are you doing okay, meatball?”  Herbert nodded, scratching at the back of his neck.

  
“I don’t- the change.... I don’t like the idea of having less space...” He mumbled. Dan nodded, squeezing him close for a minute before sending Herb to his room so he could hide under his weighted blanket until he felt a bit better. Once Herb had scurried out of the room, he turned his attention back to the kids.

 

Michael had found a way to curl around his boyfriend on the couch, holding Jeremy close to him, petting his hair gently as Jeremy fought the concept of sleep. "I’ll keep you safe.. You’ll be ok, I promise.." He whispered, kissing the back of Jeremy’s neck as the taller teen snuggled into him. "Jer and I are pretty compact, we don’t need much room, just an N64 and a bed, really.." He laughed softly as Jeremy grumbled a soft objection that wasn’t quite made of words.

Dan nodded, gently laying the blankets over both of them. “Well, you let us know if you need anything else... Herb’s got quite a few weighted blankets and stuffed animals if... if either of you need them.” He said. He realized with a cold jolt that the basement had been unattended for some time now..

Michael nuzzled into Jeremy’s neck, humming in appreciation. "Thank you.. For taking care of us so instantly.." He removed his glasses, setting them on the end table and snuggling himself into the couch.    
  
Dan smiled softly, nodding at both of them. “Of course! Herb... He’ll come around eventually. He just doesn’t like change.” Dan said, before sidestepping towards the basement. “But, um, I need to go check on... Something.” He mumbled, turning and half-running down the stairs. 

  
There weren’t any monstrosities shambling around, thankfully, but there was a still-open flask of reagent on the lab table. Dan dug around before finally corking it, glancing at his watch. Herb would need help with his dosage soon.

 

Jeremy squinted as he battled with sleep, inhaling as deeply as he could, the wiring of his brain sparking, firing at a strange rate.  Michael put his thumb gently on Jeremy's wrist, letting the SQUIP know that it was going to be fought from inside and out of Jeremy's body. 

 

Dan snuck back upstairs, trying to stay quiet and not wake or disturb Michael or Jeremy. It had been a long enough day for them. He carried one of the syringes with him, tucked partially into his sleeve, trying not to seem suspicious.

  
Herbert could feel the beginnings of withdrawal, now. His head was pounding, and there was an itch that was spreading across his whole body. Dan had been helping him try to wean off the reagent slowly, but he still needed it.

  
“D-Dan?” He called, his voice strained.

  
“I’m on my way, Herb.”

Dan checked Herb’s old room, not surprised to find that it was empty. He looked into his own (or more, the one they shared now) to find Herb bundled up underneath one of his blankets. 

“That one’s too heavy for you.” He said lightly, earning a quiet sniff.

  
“Only after a long time.”

  
“Okay, if you  _ like _ not being able to breathe.” Dan said, gently pulling the blanket back and setting the syringe beside him.

Herbert rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry, I happen to like suffocating myself.." He grumbled. "The pressure stops the itching.."

Dan laughed a little, gathering the syringe beside him. 

“Okay, if you say so. We’re gonna have to lower your ccs soon.” He said softly, gently taking Herb’s arm and bringing the syringe to it. He knew he didn’t need to, but he squeezed down a moment before sliding the needle into a vein, as a sort of warning.  Herb's eyes fluttered shut as the fluid traveled through his veins. 

"If you say so.."

Dan pushed in the plunger until the syringe was fully empty. He finally pulled the needle out, setting it on the nightstand. “I  _ do _ say so, Herbie.”

Herbert sighed softly. "So, what are the kids going to do.. It's not like we're suitable parents or anything of the sort.."

Dan sighed. “I... I don’t know. We can’t just turn them out onto the street, but I- I don’t think it’s safe for them to stay here. Especially not if you’re gonna keep doing your work...”

Herbert looked up at Dan. "I.. That kid on his own, he could glitch out or something and hurt himself, or others, he might even be institutionalized.. And Michael doesn't have the money to get him out of there.."  Dan frowned a touch. He knew Herb was sensitive to the idea of being institutionalized. 

“I- we’ll have to keep them here, then. Just- just make sure they stay  _ away _ from the cemetery downstairs.” He said, giving Herb a pointed look.

Herbert sighed heavily. "Of course, Daniel.."

Dan nodded, pulling the blanket back over Herb. "Good. Do you want to stay here? I... don't want to leave them alone for too long." He asked.

Herbert shook his head slowly. "No, I, I'm okay, I'm better now.." He murmured, standing up. "Besides.. One of them seems more acclimated than the other.."

Dan wandered back towards the living room, watching Herb slowly untangle himself from his blankets. "Well one of them is also more possessed by a computer than the other..."

Herb nodded, following Dan down the hall. "He’s the one who's less acclimated.." He remarked dryly.

Dan stood in the doorway, waiting for Herb to catch up with him. "Then we'll just have to help him  _ get _ acclimated." He said softly, glancing back at the boys on the couch.

"I would have assumed that the computer would help him.. Adapt, I guess, but I think that if that thing does anything to help him, he'll just get more corrupted.." Herb muttered. Maybe it functioned like a virus. There had to be some way to turn it off..  "What did Michael say about.. Red 40? That's a dye, right?"

"Yeah, I think so.. do we have anything with Red 40 in it?" Dan asked. He didn't think he knew of anything  _ red _ they had in the house, since both of them ate mostly healthily.

Herbert shook his head slowly. "I don't think so, no.. But I'm sure if we set Michael loose in a convenience store, he'd be able to find something close to it.."

Dan nodded. "That's true... he'd know better than we do." He said. He turned back to the couch, part of him not wanting to wake up either of the teenagers. They looked so peaceful.

Michael cracked an eye open, looking at Dan and Herbert. "I can take Jer off your couch, if you want me to.." He whispered, groping for his glasses.

Dan shook his head. “He’s alright for now. Do you... We can take you somewhere to get something with Red 40 if that would help him out...” He said, trying to speak soft enough not to wake the sleeping teen.

Michael frowned, tilting his head. "It's as good of an idea as anything.. You guys know where a kid can get some Big Red soda? Is there like a Seven-Eleven anyplace?" He managed to free himself from Jeremy, kissing his forehead gently. "If you guys have got wheels, I could go with Dan, and Herb could stay and make sure Jeremy doesn't freak out when he wakes up?"

Dan nodded. "Yeah, I know a place. It's not too far. I've got a truck we can take." He said, gesturing towards the front door. He gently wrapped an arm around Michael's shoulders, pulling him along.   
  
Herb watched them go, anxious-stimming again as he watched Jeremy on the couch. He knew he wasn't an  _ absolute _ failure, but he had no clue how to take care of kids. Especially kids possessed by a computer. 

 

"Stay safe..." He muttered as the door closed behind Dan and Michael.


	3. Smart Patrol (Nowhere to Go)

Michael smiled breathlessly as Dan scooped him under his arm, settling himself in the passenger seat and drumming on the dashboard. "Aw, hell yeah! Tears for Fears is like, one of my favorite bands!" He rocked to and fro in the chair, playing the percussion line in the air. Dan laughed lightly at the teen beside him, grinning widely.

"What do you know about Talking Heads? I've got a few vinyls of theirs back at the house..." He asked, drumming his thumbs on the steering wheel as he drove along.

Michael looked as if Dan had told him the location of El Dorado. "You.. Have authentic vinyls.." He bounced in his chair, grinning ear to ear. "Oh, holy shit, once we get Jeremy like, all the brands of red soda, can we stop at a cassette store?" Dan laughed a little, a little confused as to why Michael seemed so surprised about him owning vinyls, since he didn't know anyone who didn't.

"Sure, if you think Jeremy'll be alright with Herb for that long." He said, going back to drumming his thumbs on the steering wheel. Michael sighed.

"I bet he will be, Jer knows how to make small talk with nerds.." He laughed softly. Dan laughed.

“Herb is a special brand of nerd, though... Not a lot of people can handle him.” He said, his voice going a bit soft. 

Michael grinned widely. "Oh, I mean, I get that, not many folks can handle Jeremy.. He's, uh, a handful.. Unlike me, who clearly is the most stable-minded of the two.." He smirked, unbuckling the seatbelt as they parked. Dan nodded, tucking his hands into his pockets as they entered the store.

“Jeremy seems like a sweet kid... Not a lot of people think of Herbert the same way...” He said, aimlessly wandering. He assumed Michael would know what he was looking for.

"He is, but, I just, I’m always so scared that he'll stop being sweet if the SQUIP gets control back.. If it has its way, I have.. No idea what it’ll do.. The only other person I know who could get it out without Mountain Dew Red was our friend Rich, and he.. He burned a whole house down with himself inside and his boyfriend had to pull him out before he fucking died, he was in intensive care for all the burns and shit for like, a month.." Michael admitted, looking over the various sodas in the fridge door.

Dan grimaced a bit. “That sounds awful... I’m sure we’ll be able to help, though... Hopefully without burning our house down.” He mumbled, watching Michael for a moment before letting his gaze wander.

Michael pursed his lips before opening the glass door, grabbing as many bottles as he could fit into his arms of each type of red soda. "Ok, we’ve got Big Red, Wild Red, Life Savers Cherry, Cheerwine, which I haven’t ever heard of but ok, and a few store brand generic red sodas.. Oh, and a Life Savers Pineapple, I love them.." He smiled sheepishly, looking at Dan. "Anything you wanna grab while we're out here?" Dan shook his head.

“Don’t think so. We don’t eat a lot of gas station stuff, Herb can only eat specific things.” He said, trailing behind Michael as the teen led him to the cashier.  
  
"Okie dokie, then I guess it’s just me who knows pretty much the layout of every gas station isle.. The perks of being a stoner, I guess.." He smiled, tipping his head back to force his glasses back up into his face until he could push them back onto his face with a free hand.   
  
Dan gently nudged Michael’s glasses up onto his face, laughing softly as he helped the teen unload the drinks onto the counter and pay for them. He wondered absently how Herb was doing, and if Jeremy had woken up yet.

Michael grinned as he set the bag into the back seat of the truck, settling back into the passenger seat. "Let’s get some tunes, pops!" He paused, looking over at Dan. "Uh.. Is that ok? I’ve never really had a father figure, since I’ve got two moms, but.. If it’s not, I totally get it.."   
  
Dan was quiet for a moment. “It’s- it’s alright, yeah. I- I didn’t have a father figure either, actually.” He laughed, a bit stiffly. He had lived in an orphanage for... most of his young life.

Michael swallowed a bit. "Ok, I just wanted to make sure, didn’t mean to impose or anything.." He grabbed his bottle of Pineapple Life Saver from the ocean of red soda in the bag, sipping it gently. "So, what other music are you into?" He asked as they drove.

Dan blinked out of the odd haze he’d let himself wander into, trying to think of good recommendations. “Well... DEVO is pretty good... a bit weird.... Have you ever heard of They Might Be Giants? not many people have, but I like their music a lot...” He said, trying to focus on the road.

Michael rocked in his chair. "They Might Be Giants are such a good band, dude! I love their songs, you’ve got killer taste in music.." He nibbled on the tip of his tongue, trying to think of a different flavor of music. "You might not be into this kind of genre but have you listened to Queensrÿche? They’re like, metal but they tell stories with it.."

Dan cocked his head. “I don’t think I’ve heard of them! We’ll have to see if there’s a cassette or vinyl at the store when we stop by.” He said. He chewed on the inside of his cheek, suddenly nervous that he wasn’t able to handle this.

"I don’t think the album I like the most is even out yet, though.. I like their stuff, but I like their rock opera thing more, so maybe we could just see what strikes our fancy, huh?" Michael offered, fishing in his hoodie pocket and grinning. "And I’ll cover this one, since I might turn into a collector on you and have to buy a small hoard.."

Dan nodded. “Whatever you want, kiddo. I’m just the chauffeur for tonight...” He said, pulling into a parking spot. It was still dark out, a fine fog above the ground from the rain. _Herb’s favorite kind of weather_ , Dan thought.

"No, man, you should get some new tunes yourself! Pick a few, I’ll get 'em for you, it’s the least I can do to thank you.." He smiled up at the man who was going to act as his guardian for the next three years.

Dan laughed. “You don’t need to thank me.” He said, tailing into the record shop and waving at the cashier. He frequented this particular shop quite a bit, and was familiar with the staff. He wandered through the aisles, making sure there weren’t any albums he had been waiting on.

Michael leafed through the vinyls, nearly on the edge of tears due to his excitement. He had to at least try to act more normal, though, so he swallowed his over-enthusiasm and instead wandered the aisles. He paused as he heard Dan begin chatting with the cashier when he lapped around to the front of the store, keeping his eyes on the cassette tapes. Dan watched Michael wander around the store, grinning a touch at his excitement.

  
“You babysitting, Cain?” The cashier, Ryan, asked. He was one of Dan’s coworkers at Miskatonic.

“No, I finally convinced Herb to try fostering. He’s still warming up to it, but... I think it’ll be good for both of us.” He said, smiling softly.

Michael grabbed a few cassettes down, stacking them on top of the vinyls he'd pulled and wandering to the register. "You’re really sure there’s nothing you want? I really do want to thank you.."

Dan laughed again, nodding. “Yes, I’m sure. There aren’t any new releases yet, or maybe I’d have something for you.” He said, tucking his hands into his pockets.

Michael hummed softly. "Ok, then this is all for now.." He smiled at the cashier, paying him and taking one last good look from where he stood around the place before following Dan to the car.

Dan kept his hands in his pockets, climbing into the driver’s seat. “Have you been in a record shop before?” He asked, remembering Michael’s enthusiasm upon being in the rows.

Michael nodded. "Yeah, but it’s not the same, y'know? The smell of it is different, I don’t know how else to explain it.. Like, those smelled fresher, and the record shops that I’m used to smell like that nice old book paper smell because the sleeves for the vinyls are older.."

Dan nodded, grinning. “That’s funny... I don’t think i know of any record places around here that sell old enough records for that...” He said, watching the raindrops hit the windshield. Michael smiled as he watched the rivulets of rain cascade down the window.

"Jeremy loves this kind of rain.. He listens to this stuff to fall asleep most nights.." He sighed softly, almost wistfully. He couldn’t wait to get home and cuddle Jeremy while they listened to the rain.

Dan smiled. “Herb loves this kind of weather... Sometimes he just sits by the window to watch the rain fall... I think it’s the only time he isn’t absolutely buzzing with ideas...” He said. Michael opened his mouth to say something, although the words caught in his throat as he saw a scrawny flash of blurred movement.

"Shit, pull over!" He blurted, fingers twitching as he pulled his hood up to give himself at least some shelter from the rain. 

Dan slammed on the brakes, pulling over. He tried to ask what was wrong, but Michael was out in the rain before he could. Swearing, Dan clambered awkwardly out of the truck, shivering as the rain soaked him completely through.

Michael peered up at Dan once he had arrived where Michael was crouching, cradling a fluffy black and white patched cat in his arms. "They’re cold.." Michael stated, returning to the truck and wrapping the shivering cat in his dry shirt. He put his soaked hoodie into one of the plastic bags, situating himself and the freezing cold cat. "Ok, sorry, let’s get home and I’ll run some laundry.." He smiled gently, wiping his glasses free of rain as best he could.

Dan was shivering as he drove, a little nervous to bring the kitten home. He knew Herb liked animals, but he also knew that animals didn’t like Herb. Which tended to make him upset. But at the same time, they couldn’t just leave the kitten there....

Michael realized very quickly that Dan driving home with a soaking wet and very shirtless twunk wasn't the best of ideas, but he also knew that he couldn't just leave his hoodie on. He'd freeze his ass off. And he had to keep the new baby safe and warmish.

Dan’s teeth were chattering as he drove, and he turned the heat up as high as possible. “If- If y-you need.. one of H-Herb’s w-weighted blankets is- is in the back..”

Michael shook his head, laughing softly. "No, I'm good, I'm hot blooded.." He rubbed a thumb against the head of the wet kitten, grinning as it squeaked up at him.

Dan nodded, turning his attention back to the road. He hoped they would get home soon. He was freezing. The only thing that made the trip outside worthwhile was the kitten’s squeaking every now and again. It reminded Dan of Rufus.

Michael kissed the damp forehead of the kitten, admiring how precious everything about the little creature was, their sweet little eyes, their delicate mews.. He hummed softly. "You wanna name this little baby?" He asked softly.

Dan laughed softly. “You found them, you get to name them...” He said, pulling into the driveway.  


	4. Running on Remote Control

Jeremy woke up slowly, rubbing his eyes and examining his wrists to make sure the SQUIP had let him go. "Wh... Where.. Is Michael here? Or, or is the Tic Tac blocking him again..?" He whimpered softly, looking at Herbert nervously.  Herbert froze in response to the question, scratching his neck as he realized Dan couldn't answer for him. 

"Oh, he- he went with Dan to the store. They were going to find something for you with Red 40 in it." He said, subconsciously bringing his hands close to his chest. 

Jeremy sighed softly.  "Holy hell, ok, I.. I hope that the dye is the thing that deactivates it.. Or at least incapacitates it.." He inched a bit closer to Herbert. "You can, uh.. Siphon up some of my blood the next time the SQUIP flares up, just in case that will help us analyze this stuff.."

Herbert cocked his head. He was intrigued at the thought of being able to study the odd computer in Jeremy's head, but some part of him rejected the idea. "I... I don't think that will be necessary. Unless you really think it cannot be studied any other way... I don't think I am willing to do that."

Jeremy rocked gently on the couch, glad that the SQUIP had decided to leave him alone for a little. "Ok, I was just asking, since I know computers are like, the size of a living room right now.."  Herbert cocked his head, rocking forwards a bit as Jeremy’s movements spurred him into his own. 

“What do you mean?” He asked.

"Well, I mean, it's like you took one of those computers and crammed it into like, an inch or two.. I'd assume that when it activates, it fucks with my blood or something, why else would I turn into a glowstick?" Jeremy murmured.

Herbert moved a touch closer. “A reasonable assumption. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a  _ bad _ effect, however. The reagent does the same thing... and it brings life to dead tissue.” He said.

Jeremy quirked a brow. "I mean, yeah, but mine is a supercomputer from Japan that I got from a shifty guy selling them for 400 dollars out of a box of lady’s running shoes in the Payless Shoes in my town's mall.."

Herbert laughed a little at that, something he usually avoided in front of others. “Alright... I see your point.” He said, sitting beside Jeremy on the couch, albeit leaving a good foot of space between them.

Jeremy laughed softly. "Yeah.. So, uh, do you reevaluate your previous decision to not investigate my blood? Or are we going to engage in some phlebotomy the next time it acts up?"

Herbert thought for a moment. He didn’t want to get Jeremy mixed up in his work, but it definitely seemed like Jeremy needed someone to figure the little parasite out. “If... If that’s what you’d like, then yes.”

"I just want to know what this thing is doing inside me.. Michael, when he was trying to convince me that the SQUIP was a bad thing, he pointed out that supercomputers weren’t just made to get teens in New Jersey laid, and this thing has to have a purpose.." Jeremy looked at Herbert, eyes suddenly very serious. "If I can’t take it out, I at least want to know why it’s in me.."  Herbert nodded. 

“Understandable. I will do my best to help you.” He said, leaving out the  _ but I’m not sure if I can _ part.

Jeremy smiled softly. "Thank you.." He drummed his fingers on his thighs, returning his attention to Herbert. "We could surprise the boys with dinner? I wanna do something, but I want it to be helpful and productive, and also I think I might get shocked by the brain demon if I take a hot shower and jack it.." He flushed a bit.    


Herbert hummed, standing and moving into the kitchen. " I am... not sure what we have to eat here. Also, I can’t cook. At all. It’s quite pitiful, actually.” He said, digging through the cabinets.  Jeremy laughed at Herbert's self degradation. 

"I’m sure you can still help.. And our blood experiment might happen sooner than anticipated, since my SQUIP can probably figure us out something with whatever we’ve got in the cabinets real easy.. It’s good at solving problems.."  Herbert frowned. 

“I wouldn’t want you to put yourself at risk of that thing if it were unnecessary.. only if you truly want to use it... but be careful.” He warned, keeping his eyes trained on the cabinets or the floor.

Jeremy pursed his lips. "Actually, I think we're safe for now, I can string something together without the calculator's help.." He examined the dry ingredients in the counter before turning his focus to Herbert. "Can I open the fridge, or are there limbs in there?"

Herbert laughed, his odd little bark of a laugh escaping him shortly. “There shouldn’t be. Only downstairs. Did Dan tell you not to go down there yet? Don’t go down there.” Herbert said, rolling his sleeves back to his elbows.

Jeremy laughed, smiling. "I’ve heard not to go down there, yeah.." He opened the fridge, tapping on the door. "What kind of stuff can you eat? I don’t want to make stuff you can’t have.."

Herbert tipped his head. “I can have anything, I just don’t like certain textures... anything overly soft or crumbly, mostly.” He said, feeling a bit touched that the kid already cared about him enough to be wary of his odd eating habits.

"Okay, um, so if I made pasta or something, you’d prefer if there wasn’t a cream sauce, or like, is it the actual base food?" He asked, checking the expiration date on the chicken that was in the fridge. He could work with this..

“It would be both the base and anything added on, but I can always remove parts myself. To make it easier on you.” Herb said. He leaned against the counter, about to say something else when he heard a faint yowl from the basement. He froze, side-glancing at Jeremy and hoping he hadn’t heard. “Ah, if you’ll... excuse me a moment...” He said, pushing away from the counter and hurrying towards the basement.

Jeremy nodded. "Don’t die!" He chirped, looking into the cabinets and grabbing basil and olive oil. He fished in his hoodie, pulling out various plastic baggies of trail mix, almonds, and dried fruits, smiling as he retrieved a bag full of pine nuts from his pocket. Thank god he liked to snack on obscure crunchy things.. Chicken with pesto sounded tasty as hell. "Herb? When you’ve got a minute, do you guys have a cuisinart? Like a food processor?"

Herbert paused halfway down the stairs. “We have a blender. Under the sink.” He called, before jogging down into the basement. There was another yowl, and he just barely caught a flash of fur scurrying under one of the lab tables.  “Twofus... this is not good cat behavior. Get back here!” He hissed, trying to corner the franken-cat to be able to put him back in the carrier. “It’s only for a little extra time...” He mumbled, trying to block Twofus’ path as the cat mewed at him, making a run for the stairs.

Jeremy pulled the blender out from under the sink, freezing as the most raggedy cat he’d ever seen sprinted up the stairs, meowing in a gravelly voice at him. "Hey.. Hey buddy.." He murmured, crouching down and blinking slowly to let the cat know he wasn’t a threat. "C'mere, I’ll give you some nice pets, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?"

Herbert stopped at the top of the stairs, leaning against the doorframe and breathing heavily. “Hey!” He barked. Twofus turned to look at him, halfway between Herbert and Jeremy. “You are not  _ permitted _ to be up here yet,  _ cat _ . Daniel is not allowed to see you until next week, got it?” He stalked forward, not  _ actually _ angry, but a bit frustrated. More flustered than anything.

Jeremy felt the On switch trip in his brain, and he looked up at Herbert from his position near the floor, electric blue leaking from his eyes into the flesh of his cheeks. "Don’t get any closer.." He growled, voice layered with a metallic tint, something that sounded wrong, deeper, even. Like he wasn’t talking, just moving his lips to allow something else to speak. "Just because Daniel can’t see him doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to breathe a little.. Not everyone likes hiding in a basement all day.." Twofus pressed his lopsided head into Jeremy’s palm, and the electric blue flooding his body faded into nothing, replaced with an awed smile.    
  
"You’re so soft, oh my god.." He whispered, scratching the cat behind his ears very gently.

Herbert felt his chest puff a little, a natural response to being insulted. He realized that it hadn’t been Jeremy who had spoken, but some part of him was still hurt by it. “He’s  _ fine _ downstairs... He hasn’t been trying to escape until today...” He mumbled, but it was thin. He didn’t want his gift to Dan to be ruined by his own incompetence. This was his chance to make up for the mistakes he’d made. He sat on the floor, almost  _ jealous _ of Jeremy. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because his own creations despised him.

Jeremy looked up, scooping Twofus up very carefully and sitting closer to Herbert. "I bet he’d be more friendly with you if we just hung out for a little.. just like, not cornering him or anything, just letting him sniff and hang with who he wants to.." Jeremy offered, using the cat as a way to apologize for the way the SQUIP had insulted him.

Herbert watched warily, but didn’t move away. “Animals don’t like me. Neither do people. Nothing does, I suppose.” He said, though his voice was soft. “I had hope for Twofus... but he seems to feel the same way as everything else...” He said, offering a hand to the cat to sniff.

Jeremy shrugged. "I dunno. Sometimes you just need to give things time.. I wish I knew that sort of thing wasn’t super important before I swallowed my tic tac.. That the people who care about you most are there, and even if you don’t think they see you, they do, and they care, and they’ll try if they really do care to make you happy.." He smiled gently as Twofus nosed Herbert's hand.

Herbert nodded. “That is true...” He said softly, choosing not to be difficult by mentioning the fact that save for Dan, everyone else in his life had left or died. Even Rufus. He gently rubbed behind Twofus’ ears, realizing that he... Didn’t really know  _ how _ to pet a cat.

Jeremy smiled gently at Herbert. "Yeah, I think he likes head rubs and ear scratches.. Don’t know what else he likes, but he likes head rubs for sure.."   
  
Herbert smiled softly, scratching at Twofus’ head and feeling an odd rush of joy when the cat began to purr softly. Jeremy grinned as the creaky rumble of Twofus' purr filled the kitchen. "See? He likes you, you just had to let him warm up to you.."

Herbert hummed softly in agreement. “The first creation of mine to not try to rip me apart, hm?” He said softly, scratching along Twofus’ back, carefully avoiding stitches.

Jeremy tilted his head, sighing as he finally heard the rain and slowly standing himself up. "Ok, time to focus.. Gotta do some cookin'.." He walked to the kitchen sink, washing his hands and grabbing a skillet and the vegetable oil.

Herb watched Jeremy closely, letting Twofus skitter away, back towards the basement. “If... If you need... Help... I can do my best to offer my services...” He said.

Jeremy hummed softly to himself as he worked, soon filling the home with the smell of garlic and basil. He hadn't cooked like this in a while, usually only when his dad was off trying to get back onto the dating scene, or when Michael and Christine were over.

Herb watched Jeremy cook, mesmerized at how easily it seemed to come to him. “You... know what you’re doing, don’t you?” He said, wandering close but still out of the way.

Jeremy nodded. "Yeah, I kinda became the food guy when my mom.. Left.." He faltered. He knew she had left under distress, without a phone number or even luggage. She had left because she couldn't seem to handle the life around her. He'd been told she'd been put into a mental hospital for a period, but the information slowed over time. He didn't want to think about what she did to herself to get there..   
  
Herbert frowned. “I- I understand. I was the one my siblings came to for homework help at the foster home..” he said, smiling a touch. None of them remembered him, he didn’t think.

 

Michael hummed softly, glancing at the roof of the truck. "Hm.. I might have to ask Jeremy for help on that.." He grabbed the plastic bag full of soda, opting to leave the records and cassettes in the dry safety of the car. He wandered to the door, looking at Dan as he unlocked the door. "We're home!"

Jeremy looked up at the sound of Michael’s voice, shooing Herb towards the basement. "Go hide the present!" He smiled, speaking through clenched teeth as he worked on dinner.


	5. Take a Sip (Does it Still Matter Which One?)

Dan stepped inside, still dripping. He was greeted by the smell of something cooking (and knew immediately that Herbert wasn’t in the kitchen). He managed to catch a glimpse of Herb disappearing into the basement, the door shutting softly behind him.  
  
Herbert prayed that Dan hadn’t seen Twofus in his arms as he carried the zombie cat downstairs, cradling him close as Twofus murred and mewed at him. “Shh, shh... You can come upstairs soon...” He said, gently laying Twofus in his carrier and replacing his food bowl.

Michael smiled gently, moving upstairs to towel the kitten off while Jeremy finished making dinner. A Heere family meal was something that you looked forward to, no matter what you'd been hungry for.  
  
Jeremy eyed the bag full of red soda, his veins humming with electricity. "It's nervous.. That's a good sign.."

Dan wandered into the kitchen, still soaking wet. “How’s it going in here?” He asked, poking around whatever Jeremy was making. He realized a moment later that there was a conspicuous absence of his husband. “Wait- where’s Herbert?”

Herbert gently locked the carrier as Twofus ate, climbing the stairs and trying his best to sneak out of the basement. He heard the door click at the same moment that there was a soft mewl from somewhere in the house. Herbert froze. “Shit.” He murmured, hoping Dan hadn’t heard.

Jeremy smiled at Dan, still kind of dealing with the fact that one of his new parental figures was an inch shorter than him. "Things are good, I'm making pesto chicken.. And you should maybe change, Herbert said he had to make sure something was contained or something, but he'll be right back up here.."

Dan frowned a touch. He hoped Herb was alright. Before he even got to investigate, Herbert entered the kitchen, freezing up upon seeing Dan.

"Why are you wet." Herb asked.

"Aw, c'mon, meatball... Don't you want a hug?" Dan asked, a grin spreading across his face as Herbert tensed, stepping back. Dan stood with his arms open for a moment before swooping forwards and hugging Herbert tightly to his chest, holding him a few inches off the ground.  


Michael smiled as Oreo poked her head out from under the towel as he blow dryed her back. "I know its loud, but it's also nice and toasty warm, so you'll be nice and dry to meet Jeremy and the Old Man.." He joked softly as the kitten wriggled in the towel.

  
"Daniel Cain, let me _down!_ " Herbert shouted, kicking and writhing in Dan's arms. The water from Dan's clothes was weeping into his own. Before long, his teeth were chattering. He wriggled and pushed against Dan as Dan laughed, swaying him a little. As a last resort, Herbert tried to go to dead weight, but Dan was strong enough that it didn't really change anything.

"C'mon, Herbie! We even have something to show you!"

Jeremy laughed softly as he worked, ignoring the static in his fingers that urged him to dispose of all the beverages that Michael had brought home.   
  
Michael marched down the stairs in nothing but his boxers (his wet jeans had started to stick to his skin), cradling Oreo to his chest. Jeremy impulsively grimaced a bit, far too reminded of his father before the Tic Tac incidents, but his displeasure with Michael's lack of pants was replaced by soft bewilderment. "Did you get a cat?" Jeremy asked as he finished plating dinner.

Dan grinned, though it wavered a little as Herbert’s head snapped up. He looked... almost scared. Dan gently set him down, a little nervous that they’d made a mistake in bringing home a cat. “Is that... Alright, Herb?”

Herbert watched the kitten closely, relieved for a moment that Twofus hadn’t escaped, before a rolling defeat filled his chest upon realizing that his gift ended up being pointless. He nodded weakly. “Yeah... she’s cute.” He said, poorly hiding his emotions. He winced. Why couldn’t he be a better actor?

Oreo nuzzled against Herb's ankles, mewing softly as she twined herself between his legs. Michael grinned. "Aww, she likes you!"

Dan nodded, a little more somber upon noticing Herbert’s odd mood shift and Jeremy’s odd behavior. He didn’t think anything had happened while they were gone, but he was never sure.  
  
Jeremy squinted, tensing and dropping the spoon he was using to put pesto on the chicken into the sink. His eyes glowed a bit, and his jaw locked. He cleared his throat, shaking off the static and smiling. "Why don’t we get some food in us.. Or, uh, I’ll set the table while you three get dry clothes?"

Herbert watched the kitten rub up against him, blinking back tears. She seemed like a sweet cat... but  _she_  got the reaction Herbert had been hoping to save for Twofus. He gently rubbed behind her ears, hiding his face as she mewed at him.

Jeremy set the plates onto the table, sighing as he scooped Oreo up. "You should go get changed.. And don’t worry.. I’ll introduce this one to Twofus next time they head out, so that he knows he’s got a little friend.." He smiled, trying to ignore the fact that his eyes were blurring.

Herbert cocked his head, noticing Jeremy’s odd behavior. “Is it... bothering you?” He asked, his hands returning to his chest. “Is there anything I can do?”

Jeremy nodded once, looking at the floor as he pulled out a chair almost mechanically and settled himself. "I.. I don't know.."

Herbert sat beside him, tucking his legs underneath himself. “What’s happening? How are your senses?” He asked, scooting as close as he was comfortable with.

Jeremy inhaled slowly. "I can smell just fine, my fingers and forearms are tingling a little, I can feel  it trying to get me to sit up straight but y'know, I'm with people I trust and don't need to impress so you shouldn't shock me upright, and my ears and eyes are trying to block Michael again which makes me want to cry.." He admitted, laughing bitterly. "I have an appetite, though, so that's a good thing.."

 

 

Michael smiled gently at Dan as the older man ventured into his room. His fingers ran along the tiles in the wall, and his nails snagged on a loose bit of grout. A stab of bitter sadness swelled in his chest as he fiddled with the filling. He hoped that he wouldn't be blocked away again, but with the SQUIP being in an environment that it couldn't really be hurt in, he couldn't be sure. His downward spiral paused as Oreo hopped into the wash basin, and he scratched behind her ears gently.

Dan changed quickly, sighing happily. He turned to leave, catching sight of Michael in the tub. Cocking his head, he slowly entered, gently knocking on the open door. “Hey, everything alright in here..?” he asked.

Michael jolted at the sound of the knock, tearing his eyes away from Oreo and turning to look at Dan. "I.. Uh.." His hands shook a bit as he pet the cat's forehead with his thumbs, humming shakily to tether himself to reality. "Just.. Remembering something that happened last time the SQUIP was a douchebag.." He muttered, trying to stop shaking. "I.. Can you go ask Jeremy if I can borrow his hoodie?" He asked sheepishly.

Dan nodded, feeling a bubble of concern slowly rising in his chest. It seemed like everyone was acting a bit odd tonight. He meandered into the kitchen, freezing as he saw Herb sitting with Jeremy.

Michael tilted his head back, smiling as Oreo stepped on his chest, licking his chin. "Thank you.." He whispered softly. He wasn't alone right now..  


 

“Okay. You have an appetite, which is good... We could always test whatever it is that Michael and Dan brought home earlier...?” He said, shifting a bit closer to try and see Jeremy’s face, to make sure he was still responding.

"Sure, why not? Couldn't hurt to try.." Jeremy sighed, wetting his lips as he turned to face Dan before he even announced his presence. "You need me? Also you guys should get down here and eat before this gets cold.."

Dan blinked, clearing his throat. “Oh, uh- Michael wanted to borrow your sweatshirt. I... I don’t know what’s wrong but he seems upset.” He said, trailing off at the end. Herb (surprisingly) seemed to have this one under control.

Herbert gently rested one of his hands on the chair. “We’ll eat in a moment. The main concern right now is you and your little parasite friend. Would you like to try the drinks?” He asked, trying his best to seem comforting.

Jeremy shucked off his hoodie, offering it to Dan. "Tell him to come down whenever he feels up to it.." He murmured as Dan went to give Michael his hoodie, returning his focus to Herbert, who had a spark in his eye like when Michael got wrapped up in an elaborate idea. "Sure.. I'm down to test our little hypothesis.. I just hope that one of them helps.."

 

Dan brought the hoodie to the bathroom, entering slowly so he wouldn’t disturb Michael if he was crying, or something.

“I.. I have this.. If you need to talk about anything, I- I’ll be right across the hall.” He said, holding the hoodie out. Michael ushered Oreo out of the tub, standing himself up and walking to Dan, wrapping himself in Jeremy's hoodie before hesitantly wrapping his arms around Dan in a hug. Dan wrapped his arms around Michael, pulling him close and squeezing him a little. He wouldn’t ask, he figured Michael would tell him what he wanted. Michael allowed himself to cry softly, blinking away the tears after a short while.

"I’m, I.. I’m just scared.. I don’t want to lose Jeremy, not again, the SQUIP, it’s probably stronger because there’s no real way to turn it off.. I.."   
  
_Get_ _out_ _of_ _my_ _way_ , **_loser.._**  
  
"I don’t want him to leave me behind.."

 

Herbert nodded, murmuring faint assurances. They needed to test the red dye, as soon as possible. He held his thumb against the injection site, shifting and reaching across the table to grab the closest bottle. “Are you ready?” He asked.

Herbert stood, moving to gather the different bottles before pausing. “Would you like me to take a blood sample as well...?” Jeremy nodded rather frantically.

"Yes.. Please.." He sighed, reclining in his chair and placing his left arm palm-side up on the dining room table.

Herbert nodded, gathering a syringe from the living room, returning a moment later with it. He pressed down on Jeremy’s inner elbow, finding a vein. “It will hurt, brace yourself.” He said, squeezing gently before inserting the needle. drawing back on the plunger.

Jeremy’s eyes nearly zeroed out as the electricity in his brain exploded through his body. He grit his teeth, battling the SQUIP in his head for dominance. He had to keep control, otherwise he’d probably just make a big mess of the soda on the machine's behalf.

Herbert glanced up at Jeremy, releasing the plunger and slowly pulling the syringe out of his arm. “Breathe, Jeremy...” He said softly. “Focus on breathing.” Jeremy kept his eyes shut, trying his best to not start hyperventilating.

Herbert frowned. Speaking wasn’t enough. He crouched in front of Jeremy, gently getting his attention. “Breathe with me. In.... Out.... In... Out...” He said, keeping one thumb over the injection site to make sure it wouldn’t bleed. They didn’t need that in the moment.

Jeremy inhaled and exhaled according to Herbert's instructions, the pressure on the injection site somehow comforting, tethering him to the moment. The teen opened his eyes slowly, the whites of his eyes faintly lined with the same circuit-like patterns that were trying to crawl down his neck and leak from around his eyes.

Herbert watched the reaction beneath Jeremy’s skin, murmuring faint assurances. They needed to test the red dye, as soon as possible. He held his thumb against the injection site, shifting and reaching across the table to grab the closest bottle. “Are you ready?” He asked.

Jeremy nodded once, studying Herbert's face. "You might have to hold me down, though.. At least with the Mountain Dew Red, it.. Doesn't want that shit in my body, so it'll use every trick in it's coding to keep it away.."

Herbert nodded. He handed Jeremy the bottle, before carefully restraining him against the chair. Experience with the hospital allowed him to know exactly how to restrain someone with minimal pain. Jeremy sucked in a breath of air through his teeth, his veins beginning to glow as the machine co-piloting his body realized they were serious. Herbert nodded once he was prepared to fight against whatever the machine would try. “Whenever you’re ready.” He said. He didn’t want to force this situation more than he had to. Stress wouldn’t help.

Jeremy felt his muscles tense, coughing as he felt his throat close.  
  
_Defensive procedures initiated. Vocal cords blocked._   
  
He swallowed, fingers curling into his thighs.

 

Michael leaned into Dan's side, his eyes widening just a bit as he saw Herb and Jeremy essentially conducting an experiment at the dinner table. "Oh.. Are we trying to figure out the Tic Tac?"

Herbert stayed close, jolting a bit as Jeremy’s muscles tensed under his hands. “We are.” He said, watching the blue lights flicker under the teen’s skin. “Breathe.” He said softly, his voice sharp but not angry.  
  
Dan frowned, standing back. “I would wait... I don’t think getting close to that thing is going to help us get it out...”

Jeremy shut his eyes, inhaling slowly. If the SQUIP was on the defensive, they might have some validity in their thoughts.. Or it could be stringing them along and just playing with Jeremy like a puppet.   
  
Michael sighed, pulling Jeremy's hoodie over his head. He knew Dan was right, but he wanted to be there to help. He navigated around the table, giving them space before he took a chair and sat a solid meter from Jeremy. He wasn't leaving Jeremy alone with that thing..

Herbert nodded. “Good. Think about what you want. What you’re trying to achieve right now.” He said, able to feel _something_ thrumming under Jeremy’s skin.   
  
Dan didn’t know what to do besides hovering nearby and remarking that he’d rarely seen Herb restraining anyone. He tried not to think too hard about it.

Jeremy glared at his SQUIP, fighting the nearly magnetic force holding his jaw shut and managing to part his lips enough for the mouth of the bottle to get a sip of the soda. His eyes opened rather suddenly, and he coughed as half of the liquid entered the wrong pipe. The soda hit his stomach, and he waited. That was all they could do.

Herbert relaxed his grip, just barely. Enough that he wouldn’t hurt Jeremy, but not enough that the computer could wriggle out of his grip. “What should it do?” He asked, a little nervous that the deactivation would hurt.

Jeremy tensed. "It should shut that thing up, make it freak out and scream, make it, make it stop.. But.." Jeremy felt his lips twitch, his voice layered with a sort of metallic echo. "You'll have to try harder.."

Herbert snarled a little, refusing to try hurting the thing, knowing it'd backfire on Jeremy if he did. He turned to Dan. "Mix all of them together. If one won't do it, all of them will." His voice was level, back to the commanding tone he typically used. He refused to take his eyes off of the teen in his hands, eyes flicking across the blue circuitry glowing in his skin.

Jeremy swallowed, his leg bouncing anxiously. That was a tick that Michael knew meant that Jeremy was anxious or uncomfortable, and the SQUIP would exploit every trick it could to get Michael to intervene.

Michael exhaled sharply, knowing that the pill was trying to make him do something, divert the efforts away and just eat dinner, but he knew that he couldn't. So he dropped his gaze. 

_See? He's not going to help you.. and you're going to trust two men you've known for about three hours over me? I only want to help you.._ The voice in his head chided, no trace of fear. This was a joke to it. Jeremy grit his teeth, focusing on his breathing instead of anything else.   


_You know I can help you focus, Jeremy.. All you have to do is say the words.._

Jeremy felt his throat clear, and he opened his lips a bit. "I won't turn that on again.." He whispered, inhaling deeply.

Herbert stayed close, but didn't move. "What?" He asked softly. Dan was hurriedly trying to mix everything together, his hands shaking so badly that half of it was on the table instead. Neither of them had any experience with computers, let alone a tiny, ingestible supercomputer.

Jeremy looked up. "It wants me to turn on.. Something that would hurt my ability to see you guys, something that.. Something I used on Michael when this thing had my full trust.." He admitted, glancing from Herbert to his hands. "You have to pin my hands down.. It won't willingly let me drink that.."

Herbert nodded. "Don't let it convince you of anything." He said, carefully pinning Jeremy's wrists to the chair underneath his own, hoping he wasn't squeezing too tight. Dan appeared behind him, kneeling in front of the chair with the glass full of various red sodas, almost blood-like in its appearance. Jeremy studied the cup, keeping his jaw set with his lips half open. The trick was going to be getting himself to swallow the solution.

Dan shifted, carefully tipping the glass into Jeremy's mouth, knowing the robot would probably fight back. Carefully, he clamped Jeremy's mouth closed, using his hands as a kind of muzzle to (hopefully) keep him from spitting the liquid back out. Jeremy tipped his head back, acting as if he was trying to take some kind of medication. The liquid tried to trickle into his throat, slipping down into the back of his mouth only for it to trail down the wrong way. He coughed, keeping his mouth closed and shooting half of the mouthful out his nose in the process, swallowing what he had kept and examining his now red-saturated striped shirt.

Herbert blinked, suddenly covered in a fine mist of red. It wasn't the first time. He immediately instructed Dan to let go, tilting Jeremy's head forward again. "Breathe. Don't choke, please. Nobody wants that..." He murmured, double checking that they still had a fair amount of their cocktail.

Jeremy inhaled, spluttering as he wiped his nose with the back of his hand. Michael grabbed their dinner off of the table, moving the plates into the kitchen. He didn't know about the other people in the room, but he assumed they'd appreciate a dinner that wasn't flavored like cherries.

Dan watched Jeremy cough for a moment, no longer having the heart to try and feed the drink to him again. He knew he'd have to, because whatever the computer would do to him would be _much_ worse than choking a little on soda, but Dan still felt bad. He shakily offered the glass again as Herb gave him an 'alright' nod.

Jeremy took a breath through his mouth, steadying himself as he forced his windpipe shut. He wasn't choking this time..  


Herbert shifted, turning his focus from restraining to comforting. He watched. "Don't choke. If you need to cough it up, that's okay." He said. He watched, nodding again for Dan to carefully repeat the muzzling-thing just in case. Jeremy dug his nails into his legs, trembling as he forced down a swallow. Why the hell did this thing have to fight against him so hard? What was so bad about being turned off? It was just like a nap!

Herbert wasn't sure what to do, and Dan seemed at a loss as well. They watched closely, both of them prepared to step in if the computer tried to force Jeremy to hurt himself or anyone else. As of the current moment, the attack seemed to be entirely internal.

Jeremy shut his eyes, trying not to spit the soda back up. He had to keep that soda down, it had to hit his stomach, otherwise it wouldn't filter into his blood and be able to impact the SQUIP. He finally opened his eyes, looking at his wrists for any indication that the SQUIP was letting go of him just a little.

Herbert leaned back a bit, trying to make sure Jeremy was alright but allowing him to temporarily look at his wrists. He was too nervous to completely let go, which would allow the little demon computer to do things worse than just make it hard to swallow. "Are you alright?" Dan asked, taking on a bit of a mother hen persona, wringing his hands.

Jeremy blinked a bit, smiling as the glowing in his veins dimmed. "There.. You bitch, we're willing to play this game all day, so why don't you pull the rod out of your electronic ass and lighten up?" He stiffened as a shock coursed down his spine. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, go take a nap.." He grumbled.

Herbert slowly released Jeremy's wrists, stepping back and leaning against Dan, trying not to make it obvious that he had been panicking. "Are you... Is it gone?" Dan asked, wrapping his arms around Herbert's shoulders, squeezing him close.

Jeremy shook his head. "Not gone-gone.. But gone for now.." He smiled gently, the beep of the microwave spooking him just a bit.   


"Soup's on.." Michael smiled sheepishly.

Dan nodded, clapping a few times. "Right! Almost forgot, we actually get to eat _food_ now!" He chirped, moving to set the table. Herbert stood somewhat stiffly where he had been, his fingers fidgeting a little at his sides.

"I think I am going to eat downstairs." He said softly. Dan cocked his head. He hadn't heard anything, or noticed any disturbance from the basement.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly. Herbert nodded, a little jerkily.

"I'm fine."

Jeremy frowned a bit, but he understood the need for space. "I hope you like it.." He smiled gently. Michael hugged Jeremy close to him, running a hand through his hair lovingly.

"I'm sure he will, Jer-bear.." Jeremy shoved at Michael playfully at the nickname. 

Herbert rushed downstairs, gasping a bit at the cold air. It was much less oppressive than upstairs, as it was much darker, cooler, and quieter. He loved everyone upstairs, he really did, but he just... Couldn't be up there. Not all the time. Especially not when he was stressed. Plus, a headache was beginning to press against his skull, and he knew he'd need to take another dose soon. He didn't want the teens to see him during withdrawal if they didn't have to.

Dan watched the door close, able to feel his heart sinking a bit in his chest. He hoped Herb would be alright. He turned his attention back to the teens sitting with him. He tried to lighten the atmosphere, joking a bit and asking them about themselves, tapping occasionally on the floor so that Herb knew he was still thinking about him. 


	6. As Your Father I Expressly Forbid It

Two weeks had passed since Jeremy and Michael had been thrown into the lives of Daniel Cain and Herbert West, and for the most part, things seemed as normal as they could be with one of their father figures conducting strange experiments on various bits and pieces of corpses. Jeremy knew that he and Michael were supposed to stay out of the basement. It was one of the first things that both Dan and Herbert had drilled into their brains, and from what Michael had told him about the film (which was apparently more of a docu-film and less of a fictional film, Jeremy wondered if they could find the two of them once they were back in their own time..), it was for good reason. But even so, the warnings they’d received couldn’t stop the two of them from worrying.

  
The house was quiet, far too quiet for either teen to feel comfortable. It made their skin crawl, having actual silence as opposed to a lull in movement. Even the cats were still, sleeping contentedly on the living room couch. Michael scratched gently behind Twofus' ears as he and Jeremy finished their breakfast cereal. He took the empty bowls into the kitchen, rinsing them and putting them into the dishwasher with a wary glance towards the basement stairs.  
  
"Hey, uh, Jer, have you.. Have you seen Herb?" He asked, forcing Jeremy to tear his eyes from the current episode of He-Man, eyes wide with sudden fear.  
  
"Uh.. No..?" He inhaled through his teeth, moving from his place on the couch and causing Oreo to complain about how he’d moved his foot, depriving her of a very comfortable pillow. He descended the stairs, leaning against the door and listening for any noises. Usually Herbert's creations got more active when Herb was in there.. He swallowed as the sounds of small things dragging across the floor and the scratching of nails on the concrete hit his ears. Nothing sounded too out of the ordinary..  
  
"Everything sounds fine to-!" The words died in Jeremy’s throat as a loud clattering erupted from behind the basement door.  
  
"Fuck, ok, never mind, Michael, backup, please!" Michael nodded firmly, cracking his knuckles as he ran to the stairs, squeezing Jeremy’s shoulders. "I got you.." He murmured, bracing himself as Jeremy kicked the door open, expecting to find some strange amalgamate of limbs strangling their foster father.  
  
"Holy shit.."

 

Herbert watched the little creation hop around, startling a bit as it knocked a tray of surgical equipment to the floor. He sighed. “Not very... spatially aware, are you?” He asked. The creature ignored him, continuing to scurry around the basement and investigate its surroundings. Herbert frowned, but let it explore. He kneeled by the fallen equipment, dropping it into the tray. He had just picked up a pair of forceps when the door slammed open, nearly startling him into shedding his skin. He glared up at the teenagers at the top of the stairs, dropping the forceps into the tray before trying to call the amalgam back into the basement.

“Both of you! Back upstairs!”

Michael nodded rapidly, backpedaling up the stairs as Jeremy lunged for the escaped amalgam, squeezing it to his chest and realizing how horrible of an idea putting a blind flailing ball of arms close to his neck was. The nails of the thing bit into his neck, and he stumbled down the stairs, tugging on the creature.  
  
"Little help, dad?" He managed, gasping for stable air.

Herbert swore under his breath, lunging for the thing and trying to find a stable handhold. He managed to grab it in the center of its twisted little body, yanking backwards to distract it before wedging his fingers underneath its own to create space between the amalgam and Jeremy’s neck. It was still scrabbling for soft skin as he yanked it off, practically throwing it across the room.

Jeremy coughed as his lungs flooded with air, grabbing a scalpel and moving to stab the creature as it scrabbled back towards the two men in the basement. Jeremy had never hurt anything intentionally in his life, and part of him was nervous. The other part knew this thing would try to choke him or Herbert if it stayed alive.  
  
The metal tore through the center stitches, and the limbs fell to the concrete, each groping for a hold on something, anything they could find. "Are they all this mindlessly driven to choke you?" He asked, looking to Herbert with a sort of terror. What the fuck did their father figure put himself through every day?

Herbert quickly gathered the limbs squirming and thrashing around on the floor. “Not all. Most.” He said, his breathing heavy as he tried to subdue the limbs. he knew separating them would make it hard for the reagent to circulate, and eventually they would die again. “They do not like me all that much.” He mumbled, dropping them onto a table. “I’ve had... successes, like Twofus..”

Jeremy blanched. "Uh, ok, that’s.. Good to know, sorry for barging in, we thought something was trying to hurt you.." He smiled sheepishly, backing towards the stairs. "I’ll go chill with Michael now, leave you to your, uh, experiments.."

Herbert nodded, corraling the limbs back into the pile of dead, separated limbs he had in the corner. He would have to learn how to teach them not to attack the moment they woke up. He sighed. Dan would be pissed with him when he got home.

Jeremy collapsed onto the couch, snuggling into Michael’s side and sighing.

"Did that thing choke you?" Michael asked softly, feeling gently at the faint finger marks on Jeremy’s neck.

"Yeah, it wasn’t even good like you do it~.." Jeremy teased, causing Michael to nearly shove him off of the couch.

"You nearly got your throat torn open by an arm monster and you’re telling me it didn’t choke you in a way that was hot enough? Jeremy, I love you, but what the fuck, babe?" He laughed softly, watching as Jeremy readjusted himself on the couch.

"I’m just trying to make it into a positive, I know we’re going to get a lecture or something for barging into the basement all ready to kick something's ass.."

Herbert cleaned up the basement as best he could, putting back anything that had been knocked over or bumped out of place during the commotion. He sighed, glancing around once he was finished to be sure that there was nothing in the wrong place. He nodded once before heading back up the stairs, knowing he’d have to talk about _why_ nobody was allowed downstairs. He hated lecturing, but he supposed he was better at it than Dan, who usually felt bad halfway through and would abandon the lecture.

Michael turned his head back towards the door, allowing Jeremy to hide himself in the side of his hoodie.

"Hey, Dad.." He grinned lopsidedly, trying to offset the obvious nervousness radiating off of the two teens on the couch.

Herbert shut the door behind him, inhaling sharply through his nose. He tucked his arms behind himself, adjusting his glasses as he tried to think of how to talk to the boys without them thinking he was legitimately angry with them. “You both understand you are not to be downstairs, correct?”

The two teenagers nodded, although Michael noticed that Jeremy was fixated on some spot on the floor, operating on autopilot almost.  
  
"We just thought that you were getting hurt by something.. Not like that’s a good excuse for breaking the one rule you gave us, but.." Michael said softly, prompting Jeremy to snap awake from his semi-trance.  
  
"What if we wanted to work with you?" He asked, finally turning to face Herbert from his place snuggled on the couch.

Herbert tipped his head a bit. “I- That does not make it any safer for you to be downstairs. I- I don’t want you to get hurt. That is why you can’t go downstairs. Not because I don’t want you to.. have fun.” He said, watching the boys through the bottoms of his glasses.

Jeremy sighed, pursing his lips. "Yeah, but, two pairs of hands are better than one when you’re dealing with this kind of stuff, that’s why you prefer to do this stuff with Dan home, right? We could be your temporary Dan, your lab assistants, that way we could help.." Michael looked at Jeremy, rolling his eyes.  
  
"You mean _you_ could help, I’ll be the one who’s ready to rip a horrorterror off of you two.."

Herbert moved his hands from behind his back, steepling his fingers in front of his chest. “I just don’t... want you to be hurt by any experiments gone awry. I do not think I would... want you to be so close to things that could hurt you so easily, or could kill you if they got to be too strong. I don’t think Daniel would be very happy with me if either of you died.”

Jeremy frowned, studying the floor before his lips curled up in a smile. "I’ve got something that will make sure I don’t die, I’ve got built-in defense procedures, Michael can vouch for me when I say that thing can handle its own using my arms.." Michael ran his tongue along his teeth, nodding with his jaw clenched.

"Yeah, but the point of potentially dying is still on the table, unless you..” Michael’s eyes went wide as the thought finished itself in his mind, studying his boyfriend’s face. “No, Jer, have you been talking with it?" Jeremy flushed a bit, and Michael realized that Jeremy hadn’t been staring at nothing, he had been _listening,_ focusing on the technology in his brain. He let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"If it’s willing to actually keep you safe, and also let you go when you ask, I’ll keep my word of being emergency reinforcements.."

Herbert frowned. “If you trust that you can truly defend yourself, then I will consider letting you assist me. I don’t want you to die due to experiments of my creation. If you would really like to help... I can teach you a few things. Not tonight.” He turned back towards the basement before pausing. He moved to the couch to scratch behind Twofus’ ears.

Jeremy pumped his fists excitedly, bouncing on the couch. "Really?!" He beamed at Herbert, eyes shining with enthusiasm. "Thank you so much, dad, I promise I’ll be a good assistant for you!" Michael looked between the two of them, grinning at their father figure. "You’ll probably have to teach me how to, uh, get them off of you, but other than that, I’d say I’m pretty experienced with lab stuff.."

Herbert nodded, smiling his odd, stiff little half-smile. “Yes. Don’t tell Dan just yet. Let me explain it to him first.” He said, turning back towards the basement. “If you’d like, you can watch for now.”

Michael prodded Jeremy’s side gently, his tongue sticking out from beneath his teeth. "Go on, junior surgeon.." He teased, giving him a thumbs up as Jeremy followed Herbert back into the basement.   
  
He had a feeling that the coming months were going to be way more interesting now.


End file.
